My invention pertains to electronic musical instruments in general and, in particular, to those with an automatic accompaniment function. My invention is directed more particularly to an electronic musical instrument equipped with means for providing automatic bass and chord accompaniments in accordance with a program prepared by the player, together with means for the insertion, during the progress of the programmed accompaniments, of unprogrammed accompaniments in response to depressing of the keys on the keyboards used for such accompaniments.
An assortment of easy-to-play features have been built into the electronic musical instrument to enhance its practical utility and to add to the enjoyment of performance. Among such features is the programmed accompaniment function. If the player inputs a program or data for a desired sequence of bass and chord accompaniments, for example, into a memory or storage device within the instrument, it will automatically sound the programmed bass and chord accompaniments, enabling the player to concentrate on playing melodies.
As heretofore incorporated in the electronic musical instrument, however, the programmed accompaniment function possesses one drawback, i.e., the total exclusion of the player from the performance of accompaniments. He or she cannot in any way take part in the accompaniments during their programmed progress. The player must, therefore, cancel the programmed accompaniment mode of the instrument, as by the actuation of an appropriate switch, for playing some unprogrammed accompaniments in the course of the programmed accompaniments.